Did you know?

In addition to his forays in professional football, baseball and boxing, Charlie Powell might also have played on the most famous basketball team in the world. When he was still in high school, Powell turned down an invitation to join the Harlem Globetrotters.

Like most everyone else living in San Diego, seemingly, Elvin and JohnnieMae Powell moved here from somewhere else. Befitting their Texas roots, the couple raised a big family, nine children in all.

The Powells, though, were very much about quality and quantity.

You could call them the “Legends of Logan Heights.” For decades, one after the other, members of the Powell family distinguished themselves not only as athletes who’d star in college and pro football. They’d all play and excel at any sport available to them, needing only an opponent placed in front of them.

“We all got our versatility from our dad,” Jerry told the Union-Tribune a few years back. “He was a wise man whose talent was unheard of. My father was the state of Texas’ black tennis champ in the late ’30s. He played baseball (barnstorming California with Satchel Paige) and was an avid golfer. He shot in the high-60s, low-70s, playing Balboa Golf Course.”

Elvin’s oldest son, Charlie, has to be considered one of the most accomplished all-around athletes in the annals of American sport. After coming out of San Diego High in 1952 with a total of 12 varsity letters in four different sports — he played baseball and competed in track and field in the same season — Charlie Powell chose professional baseball in turning down scholarship offers from Notre Dame and UCLA.

A year in the Cleveland Indians’ minor-league system left Powell, an outfielder, disillusioned with baseball. Whereupon the 19-year-old Powell became the youngest player in NFL history when signing with the San Francisco 49ers, personally recording (a then-unofficial) 10 sacks of Detroit Lions quarterback Bobby Layne in one game.

After retiring from football, Charlie intensified his interest in boxing, knocking out the world’s No. 2-ranked heavyweight, Nino Valdes of Cuba. His 25-11-3 record included losses to heavyweight champs Floyd Patterson (six rounds) and Cassius Clay, yet to rename himself Muhammad Ali when scoring a TKO over Powell.

That’s a tough act for a younger brother to follow, but Art Powell did all right in his own right. An exceptional basketball player at San Diego High, City College and San Jose State, Art made more of a mark as a wide receiver with the Oakland Raiders, earning a place on the all-time All-AFL team.

When he returned to San Diego for the annual Raiders-Chargers showdown at Balboa Stadium, Art would get to see the play of yet another Powell brother. Elvin and JohnnieMae’s No. 5 son, Jerry, was an All-State quarterback at Lincoln High who went to Michigan State to play football and basketball. He also did some place-kicking and punting.

Of course. He was a Powell.

52

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A panel of U-T San Diego sports writers and sports editors met several times in December to select San Diego’s 52 most influential sports figures, The 52. n The debates were not always civil. Some of the selections were obvious. Who’s to argue with Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn and Bill Walton? n Others, like the San Diego Chicken, were a little more subtle. n Influence, feats and lasting legacy were major factors in our selections. As for influence, saving the Padres from moving to Washington D.C. made Ray Kroc a lock. n We’re unveiling the list one Sunday at a time until the end of the year.